If you attended last month, then you’re probably still contemplating some of the big ideas and themes—around change, customer, culture, compliance, competition and creativity—that were explored over three big days. And if you missed it, here’s a recap of some of the awe-inspiring presentations and thought-provoking conversations that transpired.
Day one kicked-off with keynote presentations from a number of esteemed speakers including the Hon. Julie Bishop, Richard Goyder AO, Stephen M. R. Covey and Moshe A. Milevsky.
The Hon. Julie Bishop
Richard Goyder AO and Dr Martin Fahy
Coinciding with World Kindness Day, delegates heard a moving story about how to harness the power of kindness to make a positive difference from Kindness Factory Founder, Kath Koschel, who also appeared on The Project that evening after being filmed on-site earlier that day.
Once the day’s final keynote sessions concluded, which could only be described as incredibly moving, delegates were invited to join the 40 exhibitors in the Super Expo for an official networking event and to pledge an act of kindness on the Kindness Wall. The goal was to beat the current world record of 4,900 acts of kindness pinned to a bulletin board which, we’re pleased to report, was achieved by a narrow margin.
Kath Koschel (R) and the Kindness Wall
The Conference’s second day was dedicated to parallel sessions, where delegates chose between 28 sessions covering a diverse range of technical and thought-provoking content including culture, global retirement trends, insurance in super, customer engagement, sustainability, investing, digital transformation and mental health.
Member outcomes session
These sessions included two new learning formats introduced for the first time this year; the Lego Serious Play sessions and the Dialogue in the Dark sessions supported by Victoria Guide Dogs. Conference Committee Chair, Andrew Boal, commented on how profound the Dialogue in the Dark session had been, saying that “in the dark everyone’s voices were equal” highlighting the importance of “collaboration and clear communication”.
Dialogue in the Dark session
Day two culminated with a gala dinner, giving delegates the opportunity to come together and reflect on the content delivered so far. During the dinner ASFA CEO, Dr Martin Fahy, awarded ASFA Life Membership to two members in recognition of their significant contribution made to the industry—Nicolette Rubinsztein and Joe De Bruyn—before delegates enjoyed entertainment from global music sensations, The Ten Tenors, and Mark Seymour.
Lifetime achievement recipient Nicolette Rubinsztein with Dr Martin Fahy
The Ten Tenors
The final day began with a much-anticipated keynote address by APRA’s Helen Rowell who unveiled APRA’s new heat maps, the first of which will be published in early December.
APRA Chair Helen Rowell
Senator the Hon. Jane Hume followed with an address reiterating Rowell’s earlier message that underperforming funds should merge in order to make the super system more efficient and deliver better outcomes to members.
Senator the Hon. Jane Hume
Delegates then heard from five inspirational speakers, each one sharing invaluable ideas on how to be creative, emotionally agile and resilient during challenging circumstances.
Fredrik Haren gave an energetic presentation about creativity, highlighting its importance during rapid change and sharing ideas from around the world.
Susan David encouraged us to be kind to ourselves, saying “When you create a space that feels kind and connected with yourself and others, you are likely to get greater levels of honesty, of motivation, of commitment and of success,” she said.
Susan David
Jill Klein explored the theory of cognitive dissonance, explaining that it is the uncomfortable feeling when get we realise that the way we’ve done things in the past may not be the best way going forward. To overcome cognitive dissonance, Klein recommended acknowledging the emotional discomfort and then move on by saying “we were doing the best we could at the time but now we know more”.
Jill Klein
Dylan Alcott OAM, delivered a humorous yet profound presentation that broke down the stigmas associated with disability, and Todd Sampson reminded everyone that we can all achieve so much more than we think by having a flexible, rather than a fixed, mindset, during the Grand Finale Lunch: Mind over matter.
Todd Sampson
You would have received the newsletter after each of the Conference days. However, if you missed them, these can be viewed on the ASFA Conference website.
